Rediscovering Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child by Norma Jean (DFT'S Dungeon)
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- Опубликовано: 17 сен 2024
- Some records are important to us. Other records are essential to us. There are some records that follow us around our whole lives. For me Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child by Norma Jean is one of the most essential records I will ever own, and in this video I will attempt to explain why. Join me for a deep dive of all things Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child.
Check out my podcast DFT'S Dungeon here
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#metalcore #normajean #christianmetalcore
When did you first hear Norma Jean?
The first song I ever heard was "Eeyore" back in the Luti-Kriss days!
A friend of mine sent me a link to a Real Audio file of it back in 1999/2000. They were already becoming infamous for their crazy live performances. I picked up Throwing Myself within the week it came out and listened to it over and over. Then I got my first chance to see them live when I attended Cornerstone Festival that summer. To say it was life changing for me would be an understatement...
I could go on for hours with my own story of how they've impacted me over the years. I've been lucky enough to see them live 15+ times over the last 22 years, The Chariot at least 6 times, and '68 a few times as well!
Watching your video really had sooo many parallels to my own story it made me smile! BTMAKTC is still one of the single most important albums of my life's story as well!
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here is the footage I personally shot at C-Stone 2002:
ruclips.net/p/PLTA47FNNj36u-GGK8iyS2pxqnqVryoCzX&si=1b5OYWSeDkleGHZW
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Yeah. An absolutely perspective changing album.
I first heard O' God, and was not a fan (I hadn't yet progressed far enough into heavy music to even remotely understand it as anything except noise). Years pass, and some stranger at the mall recommended Norma Jean to me based off the shirt I was wearing (I don't remember what shirt). I remarked that I was aware, but wasn't a fan because it was just noise. They replied that I should check out the newest album, The Anti-Mother as it was very different from their previous work. I did and was hooked. I was able to go back and enjoy the previous albums. When I got to Bless I was floored.
Album came out and the name was everywhere. I asked my guitarist to burn me a copy cause I was poor af. He gave it to me in Spanish class and I listened to it during class sitting in the back. Changed my life forever
I'm only 20 years old, I first heard them this year in May. this album and Jane Doe really opened the doors for me into the world of hardcore. before that I was listening to modern metalcore for 6 years and had no idea what the genre used to sound like. One day I got bored of the modern stuff and started researching older stuff like what influenced my favorite bands at the time and stumbled upon albums like Opposite of December and Of Malice & the Magnum Heart.
I dove deeper into the classics and at first Jane Doe didn't click it sounded way too extreme for my ears. but after a listen or 2 I thought it was the best thing I've ever heard, I obsessed over that for a month or so then decided its time to continue my journey into older metalcore.
I came across Bless the Martyr & Kiss the Child and was instantly blown away how heavy it was. I gave it a few a more listens and realized this is the kinda music I've been looking for its raw, passionate, not overproduced. really unpredictable and groovy and the breakdowns just hit so hard.
Since then I've come around to being able to appreciate other genres I would've never expected myself liking. grindcore, screamo, hardcore, death metal. I also have gone down the list of other Josh Scogin projects and I like every single project hes done since Norma Jean and only recently discovered I saw him live a couple years ago with '68 before I even knew of him. Now I feel like you back in 2002 showing all my friends Norma Jean and other metalcore albums from that era.
I’m black and from GA I’ve been listening to Norma Jean and the chariot since they’ve hit the scene watching them in hole in the walls go nuts nobody really paid them attention or I guess took them serious. I just knew Norma Jean would be one of the biggest bands ever. It’s crazy they still get no love like they should. Norma Jean is my all time favorite band! All Hail is on my Mount Rushmore of albums!
All Hail is incredible. Wrongdoers is amazing too.
It was 2002. I was sitting in art class in high school talking with a classmate and relatively new friend when he asked me if I knew the band Norma Jean. Up until that point, the heaviest bands I was listening to were Deftones and SOAD. I can't recall whether he lent me his copy or whether he played it to me in class on my discman. What I do remember, is my mind being thoroughly blown. It was a pivotal moment for me as music was always a very important part of my life. I just looked at him and asked, "Dude...what is this?!", with my eyes wide in delight and awe. It reached deep down into my soul and spoke to me in a way I didn't know music could. It laid the foundation for a decades long affair with metal and the catharsis it brings. Twenty years later, I still listen to it almost every day. Thank you for the video. This band and album deserves so much more attention than it ever received.
Thank you so much for sharing that. Its comforting to know that we had a shared experience in discovering this whole new world of sound and emotion.
Speaking of Deftones...when I was in college, a group of us somehow managed to book Norma Jean for a show on campus. I volunteered to help work it so I could go for free, and showed up wearing some cheesy Deftones shirt that I'm pretty sure I overpaid for at the local Hot Topic (featuring glow in the dark print and everything) and at one point, Daniel Davison hollered at me that "dude, that is the best band ever." He's not wrong, really.
@@10101110 That's a peak moment right there. You're right, he wasn't wrong. 😊😉
I had to have been 10-12 years old when I first heard this album after my older sister showed it to me. She was, and still is, the coolest person I know, so obviously if she liked it, so did I! I didn't truly understand how much this album would shape my taste in music until I was much older. I’m still chasing that feeling I got after hearing those clash chords. There’s something cathartic about the chaos they bring.
I was lucky enough to see Josh perform Memphis Will Be Laid To Waste live with Norma Jean at a festival back in the day too. He had been gone from Norma Jean for a while, but The Chariot was also performing at the festival, so the Norma Jean guys brought him out to perform. I still remember everything about that performance-how raw and chaotic it was, the energy of the crowd, my ears absolutely throbbing after the show. I’ll never forget that show for as long as I live.
Anyway, thank you for the trip down memory lane and this excellent video. I’m gonna go listen to this album front to back now.
My tastes veer heavier. I was way into Extol's Undecieved back when this album came out. This album was so good that you can't help but get drawn into it. To be honest I struggle getting into the other Norma Jean albums but this thing is an absolute masterpiece to my ears. I never go long without tuning into this thing. One of the better albums of my church days.
My parents were strict Christian’s so we could only buy music at the local Christian bookstore , thank God I discovered Luti Kriss which became Norma Jean
Mine were too, it was such a weird time growing up.
Just discovered your channel. Thank you for this amazing content. I am 1000% in the same boat.
1997-2003 had me heavily into Godcore with Zao, Living Sacrifice, Training for Utopia, Embodyment, Norma Jean, Stretch Armstrong, Poison the Well and etc. Buddy of mine that did a 2000-2001 college radio show with me got a tattoo of the Bless the Martyr script cuz it meant that much. And my first tat was a Zao Blood and Fire logo. I’m not in the scene now that I’m older but I think back in those years there really was a lightning in a bottle moment for a handful of those groups.
Thank you so much! But yes 97-2003 was truly a special moment in time for those bands. I think it had more of an impact on heavy music going forward than it gets credit for.
I agree. No other album had such a profound effect on me.
Josh scogin is why its so special. I saw them twice in 2003/04 when i was 17 years old. This album is my youth
Same
First time i saw them live, it was at a dirty club in orlando called the hole. They played with galico system, figure 4, and evergreen terrace. The first band was pretty chill, then figure four started playing, they struck the first chord of their set and I was in the front and i immediately became terrified, I realized i had to fight everyone to keep my place, so i fought through the last three bands, pushing and shoving and being swept in the wave of the crowd side to side. I left with heat exhaustion and a shoe-tread imprinted in my shoulder like a hickey from the stage divers.
@@memphisshallbelaidtowaste4698 My back hurts just hearing that story ha ha ha. However I'd throw down hard earned cash to see that show lineup in a heartbeat.
Love this, I was a listener of your discography discussion podcast and had no idea this existed until it showed up in my recommendations. I discovered this record at the exact same age you did around the exact same time… I hadn’t heard anything like it and to this day I still consider it one of the heaviest most chaotic records I have ever heard. The early days of Norma Jean always had this strange element of mystery surrounding them with the way Josh left shortly after the release of the album. I remember being so excited for that first Chariot record hoping it would be similar to this but it just didn’t really compare. Keep up the great content.
I remember like crying when I found out that Josh had left. It seemed like the end of the world, when in reality it meant that I was gonna get to have 2 awesome bands to listen to.
I honestly dig DFT way more than Discography Discussion, I would cherry pick episodes when listening to DD, but I listen to every DFT.
@@dft9000I felt the same way man. By the way, curious if “Failure On” by The Beloved ever had an impact on you somewhere along your musical journey. Seems like the exact album you would have been into and it would be cool to hear you discuss it.
@@michaelkubicka8325 I have an episode in the works. No ETA on it but I've been thinking about it.
Norma Jean will always hold a special place in my heart, and I have you to thank for that. When you first showed me BTMKTC, I was not a fan. But after you explained it, and then we went to a live show together....one of my all time favs now. Words don't describe how appreciative I am.
Wow, thank you
Happy 22nd birthday to this album
Skycamefalling and norma jean have their own sound and, in my opinion, have the best albums.
Amazing work once again 👏 Keep it up
Thank you so much 😀
This album will always be top 3 for me!
It was definitely a life changing experience for me. Side note. Your band is awesome. I'm a fan.
@@dft9000 What!! no way. Thank you, man.
Can't say I'm a huge fan of mathcore(outside of 'Jane Doe' and a couple TDEP albums) but 'Memphis Will Be Laid to Waste' is such a great song! Tore my face off first time I heard it
Its surprisingly catchy considering the genre.
dear god, i love this album
Its basically the Model T Ford of albums for me.
First time I heard Norma Jean was in concert ans it was a banger!
It always is.
Phenomenal video that captures the same feelings and emotions that I've felt about this album for 16 years. I loved this and relate so much to what you've described.
Thank you! It completely rewrote how I hear music.
First heard face:face off a solid state sampler cd while at a bible camp. Album rocks. Hell yeah.
I first heard the name Norma Jean at a hardcore show in Oklahoma City. Some kid was wearing the classic Guns don't Kill People, Glassjaw Kills People shirt and I told him how much I loved GJ and Deftones so we got into one of those typical concert conversations about cool bands and he mentioned Norma Jean. I kept seeing their name show up in issues of Revolver magazine so I checked them out shortly after. This was around 2003 or so I'm guessing.
@@creekandseminole I love that old Glassjaw shirt.
I liked this album back in 2002. I would even argue it-along with Zao's Liberate Te Ex Inferis-really formed the core out of what I want out of metalcore. I'd also say that nothing really hits like they hit. Bless the Martyr has, in my mind, gotten better over time because it really highlights how singular of an album it truly is. Certainly Norma Jean never touched it again (not to get into a debate with anyone as to what the best Norma Jean is, as that basically boils down to whether or not you're more a Josh Scogin or Cory Brandan person).
While not the focus of this episode, that Underoath album is so good. As big as Underoath got, it feels like The Changing of Times gets shortchanged by most fans. Maybe it was a "you had to be there" type album.
I agree totally on the Underoath album. I think simply while The Changing of Times was certainly more accessible than their previous output it might have still been too raw for somebody that started with Chasing Safety.
Great video! This album will hold a big place in my heart.
Its still in my regular rotation
I was at my buddies place and we were hanging in his room watching Headbangers Ball. One night they played Norma Jean's Memphis Shall Be Laid to Waste and ETID's Ebolorama back to back. I was never the same.
Two amazing bands back to back.
Never heard of this band but I'm curious to check them out and maybe hopefully locate an lp if I'm fortunate 😃👍
CD would be easy to get, an LP might be more difficult lol.
She = Lust ("She simply will not die")
This was an excellent video! I found it in a Facebook group. I wish RUclips would recommend this sort of thing to me on occasion. Also, I had a similar experience with this record. I found it too chaotic and unsettling to really enjoy at first, but as I got into my 20s I began to realize how amazing the record really is.
Thanks for watching it! I'm glad my first experience was a relatable one lol. I was not too familiar with heavy music at the time. Btw which Facebook group did you see the video in?
I’m more of a fan of Corey NJ, but man seeing those old videos and then seeing how big the band has become now and they’re still playing Memphis, no one can deny the significance of this record
It's incredible how loved this record still is
Love seeing this!
Love seeing you guys every week. I've got some catching up to do.
These videos rule!
Headbangers ball 2002!
Really like your videos dude. Waiting for the Dead Poetic retrospective
Thank you so much. I dont have alot of videos done yet as I just started doing these podcasts as videos but I've got some bangers slated for 2024
Good stuff! Norma Jean some good stuff!
The best Thanksgiving Feast in music form.
It’s so weird that this is Norma Jean to me, because of Josh Scogin’s involvement. I always think The Chariot or 68 before I think of Norma Jean with him
yeah, its funny too cuz there are so many people consider THIS Norma Jean to be the ONLY Norma Jean when Cory's Norma Jean has been Norma Jean longer than Josh's Norma Jean was.
@@dft9000 I think that's a testament to how good this record really is.
Definitely gets the crowd going ser them play with architects years ago when menphis kicked in the whole crowd went to war was great 😊.
There was a brief time where they stopped ending the night with Memphis and then quickly went back to it lol
Great album & Super great video!
Thank you!
Now do an episode on Luti-Kriss.
Wait that ISNT this video?
Great video essay! I don't think its hyperbole (ok, maybe a little) to say this album was the Nevermind of christian hardcore. It brought about a monumental shift in the scene and completely changed the game.
Not hyperbole at all (I'll admit I always prounounce it Hyper Bowl for some reason) but yeah you'd be hard pressed to find something more iconic in Christian hardcore at the time.
So the reason Pretty Soon... is so long is because originally there were gonna be some samples from the movie π in there (and that version can be heard on RUclips). But were removed before the final version went out. According to Josh when I asked him about it, the band didn't find out till they went to the store and bought the album. Also this puts to rest the rumor that there was a special edition of the album with that version on it. It was just the band members' personal copies from the studio itself that had them.
Also I wanna dog on you for mispronoucing Josh's last name (it rhymes with "noggin") but you pronounced Nodes of Ranvier right which no one ever does so let's call it even ;)
I've also always said "face to face" but I seem to remember learning that it was just "face face" at some point but I don't remember when or where so I just still say "face to face" since that's how it would read lol
Great video, I'll definitely go check out your podcast on The Chariot's first album!
Ha ha. It's funny because often times I'll alternate between Scogin and SKAAgin because I never remember which one is correct. The Nodes pronunciation is 💯 from me getting called out for years for saying Nodes of RANVY ER
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Great album. Only complaint is that the drums sound dead for the most part. Example: each tom sounds the same. But yeah. Pretty much my only complaint.
Slide to left, now slide to the right
Cha Cha real smooth
Lol damn bro sounds like this album took you on a journey 😂
Still after all those years i cant for some reason get into the record. I love math, noise, punk, hardcore, sludge and i adore Daniel on drums but for some reason this record just does not resonate with me. I guess i just prefer Cory on vocals.
Totally understand. Cory is an absolute powerhouse of a vocalist and brought a whole range of new ideas to the table.
@@dft9000 I have to say, not even o god is doing it for me. But damn, with Redeemer and onward everything is gold. I love how pissed off and gut wrenching are his vocals on redeemer, it is insane. Long one take vocals with minimal editing. Ross Robinson really did some work on him during redeemer i can imagine.
Redeemer is in my top 3 of Norma Jean albums.
I will share that I purchased this album in 2004 (senior in high school).
It was at Best Buy and I was excited to see it on the shelf.
There were three friends with me and they wanted to hear it in the car.
All I can say is, wow! Reminds me of the story you shared and if your parents played it on the way home.
God Bless and All the Best!
if they had heard it, there was a good chance it would have gotten chucked out the window lol